I wish Lembit well. A colourful character that could bring some fresh ideas to Estonian Politics. His grandfather, a famous Estonian astronomer fled to Northern Ireland at the end of the Second World War and worked at Armagh Observatory. His son, Uno Opik, Lembit’s father, became a research physicist at Queen’s University, Belfast. Born in Bangor, Lembit was raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and reportedly spoke only Estonian until he went to school.
Paddy Ashdown persuaded him to join the Lib Dems and in 1997 he became MP for Montgomeryshire. For many years, he was Lib Dem spokesman for Northern Ireland serving as an MP until the 2010 election.

He took a run at the Libdem presidency a few years back. I saw him at a presentation where he was advocating a Universal basic income along the lines of the Alaska permanent fund dividend.

Estonia would be a good place to progress his ideas. Estonia has one of the most competitive tax system in the developed world, with a relatively low corporate tax rate at 21 percent with no double taxation of dividend income, a nearly flat 21 percent income tax rate, a land value tax that only taxes the value of land and not the value of building and structures, and a territorial tax system that exempts 100 percent of foreign profits. Additionally, Estonia does not levy an estate tax, nor any transfer taxes, wealth taxes, or financial transaction taxes as we see in other OECD countries.

Estonia has a simple, broad-based value-added tax with a 20 percent tax rate, which is slightly above the OECD average. It also has a relatively flat, 21 percent income tax rate, which is half of the OECD average top marginal tax rate of 42 percent.

Estonia does have an above average tax burden on labor at close to 40 percent and a slightly above average capital gains rate, though the structure of its corporate income tax and its elimination of the double taxation of corporate income mitigates the economic harm of its capital gains tax.

Given his former association with one of the Cheeky Girls perhaps he ought to have tried his luck in Romania. Thanks for the biographical note, Mr Bourke, I sometimes wonder whether you take things a bit too seriously! It’s Lembit Opik, after all.

I have a family connection to Lembit, as my sister married one of his cousins. But I cannot take him seriously as a politician. He managed to lose what was supposed to have been a safe seat for us in 2010, an election in which our nationwide vote share rose. In the selection for our 2012 Mayoral candidate, he came last for first preferences, behind Brian Haley, who had only recently defected to us from Labour and so was not well known in our party at that time. Not all publicity is good publicity. And certain aspects of his personal behaviour are extremely problematic.
So if he runs to Estonia, it will be a relief for me and for the great majority of Lib Dems that he will be out of our hair. But I hope that Estonians will be wise to his flaws and reject his bid for their country’s Presidency.

Mr Opik is still involved in one line of politics ……… as the chairman of the Space Kingdom Asgardia, a micro nation formed by a group who launched a satellite into orbit. (I kid you not – see the Shropshire Star).

The micro nation has a website – in which Mr Opik offers ‘Citizenship’ for a ‘donation’ of 100 Euro (incidentally not returnable) – although I see no mention of snake oil.

Whether this latest example of Mr Opik’s ingenuity at turning a quick buck is of the same calibre as Mr Jeremy Thorpe’s involvement in the London and Counties Securities ‘Bank’ others must judge, although perhaps the good people of Estonia out to practice a bit of Caveat Emptor.

Very sadly, Lembit Opik is a stunt man and a bit of a lunatic. His name shouldn’t even be on the ballot paper. All those who love Estonia wold be shocked were he to take the place once held be President Lennart Meri.

Simon Pike 26th Nov ’18 – 8:44am
USA is a bigger country than Estonia, so if Estonia were to divide itself into 50 regions with widely different political structures, widely different geographical areas, widely different population numbers, … .

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